Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Birthdays at the office used to be grand affairs with cakes, cards and parties thrown for each person on their special day. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago the birthday budget was slashed and no longer was there an endless stream of cupcakes, ice cream and/or pizza provided on the company dime.

Not to be deterred, my colleagues and I are a friendly bunch and decided to take matters into our own hands, either buying or making sweets to commemorate one’s birthday. Ice-cream cakes purchased at the local Hallmark store spent a long period in vogue, as one colleague noted, “What’s not to love—it’s cake and ice cream all in one package.” Meanwhile, some of the more kitchen-friendly folks have been known to whip up their own creations, such as one man’s recent offering of a triple-layer lemon-curd cake to celebrate his gaining another year of experience.

On my birthday, our lovely deputy art director brought in an array of cupcakes, sourced from a delicious bakery near her home in Forest Hills. The large box was filled with flavors ranging from German chocolate to red velvet. I was extremely touched, most especially since I’ve become one of those “I’ll just keep my birthday to myself” kind of people and reckoned no one would remember I was gaining another year. So when her birthday rolled around recently, I wanted to return the generosity.There’s no shortage of bakeries in my neighborhood, and I contemplated buying her a cake. But when I eyed certain ingredients I had on hand, namely cinnamon graham crackers, shredded coconut, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk, I decided instead to make Hello Dolly bars.

Hello Dolly bars are probably the first dessert I ever baked. When I was nine, I had a super-cool grown-up babysitter named Sarah, and when she was in charge of me, fun things always happened. Whether it was ice skating at the Houston Galleria, taking me to see silly movies such as Donny and Marie Osmond’s “Goin’ Coconuts,” or just baking in her kitchen, she was always a blast.

Her specialty was Hello Dolly bars (also known as magic bars or seven-layer bars, but does anyone know how they gained the musical moniker?), and almost every time she babysat me, we’d whip up a batch of these simple yet delicious treats. Since there was little work involved, save for melting some butter and measuring out ingredients, it was a terrific recipe for a kid. When she moved away from Houston, I asked her to give my mom the recipe, and for a few years my enjoyment of dolly bars (I decided to drop the “Hello” because I was tired of bursting into song whenever I said their proper name) continued.

Over time, I lost my super-strong sweet tooth, and when I baked I focused more on breads. But when trying to decide what to bring into the office last week, I realized it had been too long since I’d eaten these childhood treats and my decision was made. Plus, the great thing about these bars, especially on hot days, is they take little time to prepare, are in the oven for about 30 minutes, and can be easily transported to another location. And while they’re a cinch to make, the marriage of coconut with chocolate and a caramelized sweetened-condensed milk belies their simplicity. Trust me, they are a guaranteed crowd pleaser!

I figured everyone else in my office had grown up with dolly bars as well. But I was surprised at my work friends’ response: “What are these?” they’d ask, while proceeding to eat another and another and another. Yes, they’re addictive, and it didn’t take long for my box of dolly bars to empty. So by special request from my colleagues (who all said, “Please! Post the recipe on your blog!”) I present to you dolly bars—so easy a kid can make them, so scrumptious an adult can’t stop eating them.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Pour the melted butter into an 11x7 or 8x8 cake pan. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs into pan, and mix well with the melted butter to form a crust.

Layer on top of the graham-cracker crust the chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans. Evenly pour sweetened condensed milk over everything.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is light brown. Let cool in pan for at least half an hour, then cut into bars and serve.

Yield:8 to 16 servings

Notes: Some recipes use butterscotch and chocolate chips. Likewise, you can use walnuts or any other nut you like as well. I used cinnamon graham crackers because that's what I had in my pantry, and while plain graham crackers are more traditional, I thought the cinnamon added a nice touch.

Oh my God, I just love it. We used to drive to Tennessee for Christmas every year (a tortuous 10 hours in the car until we finally upgraded to flying) and we'd always pass Dolly-wood. Just the billboards leading up to it were entertainment enough.Graham crackers, caramelly nuts, coconut, and chocolate, what's not to love!

I know these bars as my Aunt Peggy's Romance Cookies. They're exactly the same. I totally recognized them. No idea where the name(s)come from. But they sure are delish, aren't they? By the way, I'm a native New Yorker now living in SoCal and I have the reverse issue - I cant find a decent bagel anywhere out here...please, if you want to send me weekly bagel shipments, I'll send you weekly refried beans. Do we have a deal?

I have made these before as "ooey gooey bars" only we used regular grahams instead of cinnamon...I am going to try the cinnamon version next week when the family goes to crystal beach near galveston...i love your blog by the way.

I honestly can't remember what these were called when I was a kid (though definitely not hello dolly bars), but they were one of my favorites. I remember them from school bake sales and brownie meetings; I even remember begging my mom to get the recipe from someone else's mom but she refused, saying they were too unhealthy!

Lissa,I logged on to see if Marvin had been memorialized here. I'm sure he's already checked the big restrunt kitchen upstairs for rats,roches (hard to spell things the way he said it!), and sliiiiiiime in the ice machine. He will be missed terribly.

Thanks for the Dolly recipe! I remember them as a kid, but haven't had them in ages.

OMG..this is kismet. I was just thinking about them! (hello dolly bars) The movie "Dick" had them as the star! Searched "high" and low for them..and now I found your fun and great blog and Dollys. I am bookmarking ya homesick texan! Thanks!! Jenny

Ohhhhh..these are so incredible! One of my faves. Buttery and addictive, they're terrific if you want to add 5 inches to your rear! Are these a Southern thing? I'd never heard of them till I moved to Houston (I'm a mis-placed Oregonian).

Hello Dolly Bars!!! Hello Heaven! It reminds me of siting with my grandma while she whipped up a batch in our home in west Texas. Miss it soo mcuh. Maybe I can make some of those memories with my little one here in Tennessee! Thanks!

Oh yeah! I remember those!! wow... I do think my friend's mom who made them for us used butterscotch chips or maybe they were peanut butter chips... Eh, who cares! All I care about now is sating my incredibly sweettooth that has suddenly reared its ugly head! thanks Lisa!

It's a giant game of Blogger It, and you've been tagged. :oD I just got tagged earlier this week, and I'm sharing the fun. The rules of this funny little game are in my latest post, Tagged!. Hope you'll play!

Just wanted to say that I've tried your Fried Chicken, Cornbread, and Chocolate Fudge recipes so far, and they went down really well with my guests. My boyfriend, who's from Houston via Kansas City, wants to say THANK YOU too. =)

Yup, hello dollies, that what my mom always called them, and they were always my favorite Christmas cookie. In fact, I loved them so much that she always saved a box especially for me. I haven't had them in ages, but I'm salivating over your photo right now.

Jenny--Welcome, and I'm happy to help! It's been a long time since I've seen "Dick" (such a hiliarious movie!) and I'd forgotten about the inclusion of Hello Dolly bars in the plot. I'll have to see it again soon!

Deryn--I don't think they're necessarily a Southern thing but perhaps calling them Hello Dolly bars is Southern as they're known as seven-layer or magic bars also.

CPClergyMama--They're a perfect dessert to make with kids as there's not much work involved. And I reckon they taste just as good in TN as they do in Texas.

Marye--I know--it's funny how I'd completely forgotten about them too, but they're just as delish as they ever were.

Wow these look great. Love the different names - Romance cookies, ha!I would be very happy to receive these for my bday, but I have to agree with your coworkers that there's something about an ice cream cake that's just fab - frozen cake is so fun to eat!

I made these as a kid as well, but I knew them as kitchen sink bars (as in "has everything but the kitchen sink"), but that's just what the kids' cookbook that had the recipe called them. Funny though, I live in Holland now and two other Americans I know here have made them. I thought they were just something in that book I had as a kid.

By the way, the Dutch tradition is that you bring your own damn cake (or cookies or whatever) for your own birthday. Perhaps it's related to the penny-pinching stereotype that the Dutch have.

These were my first cookie baking experience too! I like adding a little cinnamon to the crumbs instead of using cinnamon grahams, never liked those. Rose Levy Beranbaum has a version of these that uses dark, milk, and white chocolate chips in place of just the regular ole Hershey's chips. That's what I'm making for my Christmas sweets table contribution.

I too grew up calling these "Hello Dolly Bars" and I grew up outside Philly! But they were always a favorite and I am so glad to see that the name was not a mirage for me since I could not find anyone who had ever called them anything other than Magic Cookie Bars. thank you!

I love the name of your blog! I can relate all too well as I am a homesick Texan now living in Arkansas. I love Hello Dolly's. I haven't made them with cinnamon graham crackers....but will definitely be giving it a try! I bet it adds a nice touch to an already tasty dessert!

OMG, we had the same childhood! I've only just discovered this while looking at your recipe archive (desserts, of course!). I'm going to have to make these ASAP. Thanks, Miss Lisa ;) PS: I am currently in possession of the very best list of Vietnamese restaurants in Houston. Will send to you via regular e.

I was visiting a small bakery/cafe the other day with a friend and she pointed out their Hello Dolly bars on their display in their case. She told me they were much like the Magic Cookie bars she knew I made but these looked more like a brownie than the traditional Magic Cookie Bar or Hello Dolly Bar that you have here.

I came home and tried to search the internet for a recipe that would make the treat as a cake-like brownie. In doing so I came across several websites - like yours. Another site I found gives a possible explanation to the Hello Dolly name you wondered about in your post. The site gives a possible explanation of the cookie to the name as well as the history of the Hello Dolly cookie from the early 60's to present day. Most of the recipes are the same, with a change in name or slightly different ingredients (substitution for vanilla wafers for the graham crackers being the most common). It is at the 19 September 1965 part that you will see the reference to a small girl who entered a baking contest with her grandmother's cake recipe and won. According to the author of the site, she named it for the then-recent popularity of "Hello, Dolly!" which features Dolly eating at a restaurant in the show.

I first made these bars in 1972 or 1973. I was in Mrs. Mulquin's home economics class in middle school and my recollection is that she told our class that they were called "Hello Dollys" because the head caterer on the Barbara Streisand movie made them for the cast and crew while they were shooting the movie. I still have a copy of her Hello Dolly recips here somewhere. The main difference between her recipe and yours was that she substituded butterscotch chips for half of the chocolate chips. She also used plain graham crackers instead of the cinnamon ones. She also told us another name for these were "Seven Layer cookies".

I'm from Ontario, and my family's been making these bars for as long as I can remember. We've always melted the butter in the pan while the oven was pre heating, and we've actually used cornflakes instead of the crumbs quite a number of times... I prefer them this way, I think it's because they're crunchier! While my family was living abroad, pecans were rarely available so I've made these with every nut under the sun, a mixture of cashews and pistachos went over nearly well as the traditional! I have to say though, even though I'm "all grown up" now, I still love it when my grandmother hands me the can from the sweetened condensed milk after she's drizzled it over the bars... delicious. You write a wonderful blog, and I shall be forwarding this on to a number of my relatives... my grandmother included.

I won a contest at the rodeo in the hill country with these back in the 1979. I never knew what they were called though and I used half chocolate chips and half butterscotch. Give that a try! I love this site.

I made these for the millionth time today. Love these bars! So simple and so addictive. My son has been away from home for 18 months - this is what he wanted with his first meal. Come to think of it, we had your biscuits too. Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted asparagus, biscuits and Hello Dolly Bars. Light and healthy, dontcha think? :)

Oh boy am I glad I found your blog! I am a homesick Texan, living in NC for the past 10 years. I don't see when I'll get back home, but this blog sure helps. I was browsing your recipe index and found these Hello Dolly cookies. I remember mentioning these once years ago to my 'yankee' husband (from NY) and he looked at me like I had two heads. No one has ever heard of them and I thought perhaps I dreamed up the name, since it had been so many years since eating one of these confections. Lo and behold, here they are!! I am so stinkin' thrilled and as my husband would tell me, he needs an interpreter when I get excited because "my Texas comes out" and he can't understand a word I say...now would be one o' those times!Thanks for an awesome blog and I can't wait to visit more often.Y'all take care~ Ariel